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「我的人生也很奇妙的！」馬來西亞土生土長、心寬體胖的曹亞娥居士笑著說，她提到自己雖然早在三十年前就皈依伯園法師，但卻沒有去親近法師，所以也不懂佛法，更不會去拜佛，只是皈依三寶。可是呢，「我到處勸人學佛、拜佛、要多親近法師。有一位女居士因為我的鼓勵，乾脆就出家了！還有一位女居士竟然就在家裡邀了一班人來念佛共修。」
說起如何親近法總道場，「一九九二年，我到菜市場買菜，聽人說，吉隆坡的一個大禮堂，有從美國來的法師正帶領拜萬佛，我就去了；到那裡，全場滿座。我因為很少拜佛，所以拜了十多天，感覺頭有點暈，正好麥克風報告廚房不夠人，我就去報名。啊！沒想到隔天的報紙刊登了兩張相片，一張是我在切菜，一張是我在掃地，」阿娥咧嘴笑著很開心。萬佛懺法會圓滿後，有人告訴她，宣化上人有一間廟在吉隆坡的某某地方。從此之後，阿娥就與紫雲洞結下深深的緣。
紫雲洞剛成立時，沒有什麼法會，只有早晚等日常功課，「我以為早課就是法會，常常早上二點多就開車出門，為了參加法會，」阿娥覺得太不可思議，尤其是「恒泰法師一直鼓勵我吃素，我說我不能吃素，我很喜歡吃雞肉，可是呢，因為宣公上人鼓勵人持誦〈楞嚴咒〉，我持誦一陣子，很自然就不想吃肉，真是很奇妙！」 如今的阿娥仍然繼續持〈楞嚴咒〉，還有誦《地藏經》。
「我以前都很煩惱，同修的生意失敗，經濟陷入困境，種種事情都很不順利，覺得人生就是很煩。」學佛之後的阿娥，以佛法作為人生的目標，脾氣改了，家庭也和樂，「學佛很好！拜佛很好！我天天哈哈笑！」雖然阿娥過去只是五金行貨倉的打拼工人，但對於進貨、出貨卻一點不馬虎。樸實安份、快快樂樂的阿娥，十多年來就在妹妹的工廠幫忙，一面持咒，一面做工，也影響了許多人學佛。「我最大的目標是作個上人的好弟子。」
剛退休一年，時間充裕，最近也因緣際會來到加拿大參與金佛聖寺二十週年慶法會的阿娥，依樣扛起炒菜的鏟瓢，就像菩薩一樣無私的奉獻，「只要是上人的道場，我都願意！」她就像大地一樣有著淳厚的心，樂於助人，行菩薩道。
那天，只是遠遠地瞭望加拿大的文殊山，「山的每一個窟，都像有無數尊的菩薩在哪兒打坐，都是菩薩的修行足跡，」但她卻非常興奮地說：「我要精進！要像菩薩一樣！」對自己未來的生命更深沉地反省與期許，也下定未來的目標。
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“My life is really wondrous!” A.E., who was born and grew up in Malaysia, smilingly said. She said that even though she had taken refuge with Dharma Master Bo Yuan thirty some years ago, she didn’t draw near to the Dharma Master and so she did not understand Budddhism or know how to bow. “However, I went around telling other people to study Buddhism, bow to the Buddha, and draw near to the Dharma Master. One layperson left the home life because of my encouragement. Another layperson convinced most of her family members to recite the Buddha’s name and cultivate together,” said A E with a laugh.
A.E. happily tells how she came to draw near to the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association. “In 1992, in the supermarket, I heard someone say that in a big hall in Kuala Lumpur, some Dharma Masters from America were leading a Ten Thousand Buddhas Repentance Session. I went there and the place was packed. Because I rarely bowed, after ten or so days, I started to feel a little dizzy. Then hearing that help was needed in the kitchen, I went to help. Ah! I never thought that the next day’s newspaper would have two pictures: one of me chopping vegetables and another of me sweeping the floor!” After the Ten Thousand Buddhas Repentance, someone told her that Master Hsuan Hua has a monastery in Kuala Lumpur. Since then, A E has developed close ties with Tze Yun Tung (TYT).
When TYT just opened, there weren’t any special Dharma assemblies—just the daily ceremonies. “I thought the morning ceremony was a Dharma assembly and would normally leave the house at 2 a.m. to come,” said A. E. as she thought of how inconceivable it was. She continued, “Dharma Master Heng Tai always encouraged me to be vegetarian, but I couldn’t. I loved to eat chicken. However, Venerable Master Hua encouraged people to uphold the Shurangama Mantra. I recited it for a while and miraculously, I didn’t feel like eating meat anymore!” A. E. still continues to recite the Shurangama Mantra and the
Earth Store Sutra.
“I used to be so annoyed. My husband’s business failed, his salary was low, and so many things were not going right. I felt that my life was plagued with afflictions,” said A E. Since encountering Buddhism, she has made the study of Buddhism her life’s goal. She has tamed her temper and as a result her family peaceful and happy. “It’s good to study Buddhism! It’s good to bow. I laugh everyday! “Although A. E. was a common worker at a metal storage factory in the past, she was not the least bit sloppy in keeping track of their goods. A. E. is a simple, honest, and happy person who for the last ten years has been working in her sister’s factory – reciting and working. And she has influenced several others to study Buddhism. Says she, “My greatest goal is to be a good disciple of the Venerable Master Hua.”
She has retired for over a year now and has more time to study Buddhism. Recently she attended Gold Buddha Monastery’s 20th Anniversary in Canada. As ever, she offered her work selflessly like a Bodhisattva cultivating the Bodhisattva path. “I am willing as long as it’s the Venerable Master Hua’s monastery!”
That day, while distantly gazing at Mt. Golden, a Way-place of Manjushri Bodhistattva, she mentioned, “Every pit in the mountain looks as if there are countless Bodhisattvas sitting there. They’re all traces of where Bodhisattvas cultivate.” She continued excitedly, “I want to vigorously advance – just like the Bodhisattvas!” And so she reflects even more deeply on her expectations in life and sets a goal for her future.
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